Hamburger America

by George Motz

  The idea of a “system” in hamburgers was basically started by White Castle as a way to promote the uniformity of the product. Today, there are a few White Rose Systems in north Jersey but they are all owned separately. The Linden White Rose, according to the authority on Jersey sliders, Nick Solares, may be the best example. The first time I ate there with him I heard him quietly exclaim, “This is a great fucking hamburger,” and he is absolutely right.

  The White Rose sits on the edge of residential Linden on an industrial stretch that used to be dotted with automotive shops. “This used to be body shop row,” Rich said. Rich has owned the White Rose since 1992 when he purchased the diner from Jack and Bobby Hemmings, the family that started the mini-chain. The White Rose was moved to this location at some point in 1967, its origins unknown.

  The menu has expanded slightly since Rich took over, but the original griddle still sees its share of sliders. Rich uses the same local butcher that he has for years, whose 75/25 ground beef comes from steak trimmings. They arrive in 2-ounce wads of beef that Rich presses thin on the flattop. You can order a “slider,” which is one wad, or a “large,” which is two wads pressed together. There is also a quarter-pound burger on the menu (three wads) that’s served on a very soft Kaiser roll. Although it tastes amazing, I go to White Rose for the large slider, which has the best beef-to-bun ratio. The burger is served with a pile of pickle slices on the side on a small porcelain plate.

  After the wads have been pressed, Rich tosses some thin-cut onion onto the patty. When the patty is flipped, the onions cook into the burger and both halves of a white squishy bun are placed on top to steam. The result is a soft, hot, simple burger that explodes with flavor.

  The burgers at White Rose, with caramelized onions and gooey cheese, basically melt in your mouth. It really makes you concentrate on the simplicity of these elements and wonder why so many chefs overthink the hamburger. This slider, for me, is hamburger perfection.

  Rich grew up in the restaurant business and you could say that owning a classic lunch counter was his destiny. “After college I was looking for something other than sitting in an accounting office,” he told me with a smile. But his father, who had owned five luncheonettes in north Jersey, may have been a major influence. Rich told me that when he was a kid, “Every chance I got, I worked there. I loved it.”

  In 2010, White Rose became the subject of a CBS Sunday Morning episode with Bobby Flay. After the show aired, the tiny, out-of-the-way diner started to get visitors from near and far. Rich was so perplexed by the influx of new customers that he started keeping a log. “We have been getting people from all over.” He then pointed to a regular at the counter named Teddy and continued, “But these are my friends. Teddy has been coming here for 18 years,” and Teddy nodded quietly. “I think that’s why I have been successful.”

  25

  NEW MEXICO

  BOBCAT BITE

  420 OLD LAS VEGAS HWY | SANTA FE, NM 87505

  505-983-5319 | WWW.BOBCATBITE.COM

  TUE–SAT 11 AM–7:50 PM

  CLOSED SUN & MON, AND TUE IN WINTER

  A visit to the Bobcat Bite for a green chile cheeseburger results in what I like to call the “Whole Burger Experience.” The restaurant, the people who work there, the relaxed environment, and a stellar burger all coalesce into a perfect hamburger moment.

  I was tipped off to the Bobcat by my father-in-law, Don Benjamin, a man whose only red meat intake is at this burger spot. He had a perfect burger moment there, sitting on the porch watching the sunset. It was a perfect moment that turned into a decision to move to Santa Fe.

  The Bobcat Bite is way out of town, southeast on the long, lonely Old Las Vegas Highway. The low adobe structure sits on a rocky washboard incline at the foot of what once was a large quarterhorse ranch. The interior is cozy New Mexican with a low viga ceiling and a large picture window that looks out toward the old ranch and a hummingbird feeder. Seating is limited— there are only eight stools at the counter, five tables, and just recently added, three tables on the front porch (weather permitting). The restaurant got its name from the bobcats that used to come down from the surrounding mountains to eat scraps that had been tossed out the back door. Co-owner Bonnie Eckre told me, “People used to come down and watch the bobcats eat.”

  In 1953, Rene Clayton, owner of the Bobcat Ranch, turned a gun shop into a restaurant. Today, Bonnie and her husband, John, keep tradition alive by serving a green chile cheeseburger that has been on the menu since the place opened. Fresh chuck steaks are ground and pattied by Bonnie’s brother nearby. In 2006, John decided to switch over to naturally raised antibiotic- and hormone-free beef. He made one of the best burgers in America even better.

  A green chile cheeseburger at the Bobcat is a beauty. Steamed and diced Hatch, New Mexico, green chiles are held in place atop a nine-ounce patty by a slice of melted white cheddar. The well-seasoned cast-iron griddle creates a crunchy exterior and leaves the interior perfectly moist. John is also a master of cooking temperatures, so if you ask for your burger medium-rare it’ll be medium-rare. He employs a complex system of bacon weights to manage the different temperatures of the burgers.

  I beg of you, please do not pollute this burger with ketchup and mustard. The simplicity of the green chile cheeseburger should not be tampered with. The chiles, hot and flavorful, enhance the beefiness, creating one of the greatest marriages of flavors and textures in the burger world.

  The decades-old cast-iron griddle is one of the secrets to the Bobcat’s success. John Eckre once told me, “I’ve tried to find another like it, but it’s impossible.” John stands at the grill making perfect burgers while Bonnie takes orders, makes change, and delivers food to the tables. Bonnie knows just about everyone who walks into the restaurant and greets them by name with a smile.

  The Bobcat has strange hours so check before you go. They are open 5 days a week (and only 4 days in winter), and only until 7:50 p.m. Why 7:50? “Apparently there was a curfew in Santa Fe years ago,” Bonnie told me. “You had to be home by 8.”

  John Eckre

  RECIPE FROM THE HAMBURGER AMERICA TEST KITCHEN

  BOBCAT BITE COLESLAW

  Turns out I was not the only one who has asked John and Bonnie Eckre for their amazing coleslaw recipe. Unlike most proprietary secrets restaurants possess, this recipe was adapted from a Depression-era recipe by a previous owner of the Bobcat, Shelba Surls. During America’s economic dark days, the U.S. government issued recipes like this one that could be made with inexpensive ingredients (in this case, no cream).

  MAKES A LOT OF COLESLAW

  (THIS IS A DAY’S WORTH FOR THE BOBCAT)

  2-3 heads cabbage, shredded

  1 green bell pepper, chopped

  1-1½ cups sugar

  2 cups distilled white vinegar

  ½ cup canola oil

  ½ teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon ground black pepper

  1 teaspoon celery seed

  2 tablespoons prepared mustard

  Place the cabbage in a large bowl. Place the green pepper on top of the cabbage. Pour the sugar over both (for 2 heads, use 1 cup sugar, for 3 heads use 1½ cups).

  In a large saucepan bring to a boil the vinegar, canola oil, salt, pepper, celery seed, and mustard. According to Bonnie, the smell of the boiling vinegar concoction will drive you out of the kitchen. Boil until the mustard is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Pour the hot brew over the bowl of cabbage and peppers and let sit. When the bowl has cooled, mix the contents and refrigerate. Bonnie told me that the slaw tastes best when it has had time to marinate. Bobcat makes its coleslaw the day before serving.

  OWL BAR & CAFE

  US 380| SAN ANTONIO, NM 87832

  575-835-9946 | MON–FRI 8 AM–9:30 PM

  CLOSED SAT & SUN

  The Owl Bar & Cafe seems an unlikely candidate for producing a world-famous burger. The bar sits at a crossroads deep in the dry desert of central New Mexico. Its adobe structure has barely a window a
nd is one of only a handful on the main drag in the tiny town of San Antonio. Even though you have to wait until your eyes adjust after entering, and there is a large supply of booze behind the bar, the Owl is a friendly place, a family saloon with an excellent burger on the menu.

  The Owl Burger is what many call the “other great green chile cheeseburger in New Mexico.” I drove 280 miles to eat this burger so my expectations were high. I sat at the bar at 11 a.m. and watched as burger after burger was dispatched to the booths opposite the bar. Thankfully, mine showed up in only four minutes—the smell of green chile wafting through the air was making me very hungry.

  All of the burgers are served on plastic plates with a napkin between the burger and the plate. Their famous green chile cheeseburger starts as a patty of fresh ground beef that has been pressed flat on a flattop griddle (the Owl grinds its own beef daily). Cheese, onion, tomato, mayo, and pickles are standard, and the green chiles pack a punch. They come from Hatch, New Mexico, and are lovingly prepared by Pinto, the kitchen prep cook. Pinto has been preparing the green chile for the Owl for over 40 years.

  The clientele is a mix of silver-haired motorhome enthusiasts and servicemen in fatigues. The bar’s entrance celebrates its proximity to the infamous Trinity Site, the spot where scientists tested the first atomic bomb only 25 miles away. Large photos of the mushroom cloud and other missile-site ephemera are proudly displayed. Frank Chavez opened the Owl Bar in 1945, just in time to accommodate the entertainment-starved scientists who were frequenting the area. At the request of these scientists, a griddle was installed and the Owl Burger was born.

  The shelves of the bar are covered with hundreds of donated servicemen’s uniform patches from all over the country. Current owner Rowena Baca, Frank Chavez’ daughter, started the collection years ago. Bartender of 30 years, Cathy Baca, explained, “Rowena told a cop she liked the patch on his uniform so he ripped it off and gave it to her. Since then, we get patches from everywhere.”

  Another item tacked to the walls is money. Tourists are encouraged to sign and donate a bill of their choice and pick a spot on the wall. Once a year the money is taken down, counted, and given to charity. “We’ve collected over $15,000 in the last six years,” said Cathy. The walls account for up to $2,500 a year, with the exception of a recent late-night robbery. “They stole $600,” Cathy told me. “I don’t know how they got it off the walls so fast—it takes us forever.”

  26

  NEW YORK

  CORNER BISTRO

  331 WEST 4TH ST | NEW YORK, NY 10014

  212-242-9502 | MON–SAT 11:30 AM–4 PM

  SUN NOON–4 AM

  For two decades the Corner Bistro in Greenwich Village, New York City, served my “hometown” burger. It’s the burger that became the standard by which all others would be measured. I’ve eaten over a thousand burgers at the Bistro in different states of intoxication or sober, for lunch and dinner, and a few times I even ate them with friends at 3 a.m. on a Tuesday. For five of those years I lived a block away and secretly wondered if my motive for moving had been burger proximity. I knew the right times to visit to avoid the crowds, and their phone number was in the speed dial of my cell phone. I placed phone orders and used the quiet side door to sneak in, grab my waiting hot paper bag, and make a swift exit. My burger quest started here and ends here as well. I went forth into Hamburger America, ate well, returned, and was confident that the “Bistro Burger” really is one of the best in the nation.

  Inside and out, the Corner Bistro defies its name and looks the part of the Irish pub. Carved-up wooden tables, well-worn, wide plank floorboards, and a long bar with a noticeable dip in the center create your lasting first impression. “The building is still settling,” Bill O’Donnell said in defense of the sloping bar. Bill has been the owner of the Bistro for over 40 years and its famous burger has been on the menu just as long.

  The building housing the Corner Bistro dates back to 1827 and before it was a bar it was an inn. The existing décor surrounding the bar (stained-glass cabinetry and mirrors) as well as the brass-foot-railed bar itself is said to date back to 1880. After Prohibition was repealed, the bar became Barney McNichols and attracted mostly the longshoremen who populated the neighborhood. After its short stint as a gay bar, in 1961 a Spanish woman bought it and attempted to put a European spin on the old tavern by calling it the Corner Bistro. It didn’t last and went back to being what it has been for well over a century—a cozy dive with a great jukebox.

  In 1977, Mimi Sheraton, the well-known food critic from the New York Times, wrote a favorable piece on the Bistro Burger that kick-started the surge of popularity that has not slowed since. “I came in the next day and the place was packed,” Bill told me. “I was shocked.” Bill himself admits that there’s nothing special about the burger and nothing has changed in 40 years. “We still use the same butcher around the corner. It’s good meat, mostly chuck and sirloin but I think he puts some porterhouse in there too.” Two hundred and fifty pounds of the fresh ground beef gets walked over by hand cart from 14th Street to the Bistro everyday. This was the way all restaurants received their meat in the first half of the twentieth century, delivered by hand from a local butcher.

  The Bistro Burger doesn’t try to be anything but a great hamburger. It’s a thick, 8-ounce burger whose only flourish is three crispy strips of bacon that have been flash-fried in the deep fryer (ever wonder why those fries taste so damn good?). It’s served on a toasted, white squishy bun with lettuce, tomato, and a thick onion slice hidden beneath the burger. It’s cooked in a tiny, postage stamp–sized kitchen staffed by two. They cook the burgers to your preferred temperature in a salamander broiler, a small, specialized oven that cooks the burgers slowly by indirect, overhead heat. Bartender of 40 years, Harold, explained, “It keeps the burgers soft and juicy.”

  Hard-working Louis has been the head chef and chief of burger operations at the Bistro for over 25 years. He is a man of few words but will always get your order right. Louis is in charge of the line that builds most nights for people waiting for a table and will take your order. The infamous line starts at the phone booth and can go all the way to the front door, so grab a beer at the bar first.

  Many people try to bad-mouth this burger because they are embarrassed by its simplicity. In a city with no tangible burger identity (you really can find any type of burger in New York City, from the bloated wallet busters to tasty sliders), the Bistro Burger stands out as an unflappable success grounded in modesty. The success has spread to other bars in the neighborhood that claim to “know the secret of the Bistro Burger” and have even hired cast-off Bistro kitchen staff to boost business. “There are no secrets,” Bill told me laughing, “The recipe is ‘good meat,’ you idiots.”

  DONOVAN’S PUB

  5724 ROOSEVELT AVE | FLUSHING, NY 11377

  718-429-9339 | OPEN DAILY 11 AM–11 PM

  Regulars, God bless ’em, show up at this Woodside, Queens, Irish pub at 11 a.m. daily to slowly drink their Guinness stout and just talk. They are cared for by Robert Kansella, bartender of 40 years who was at the pub before there was even a restaurant. The bar he tends to is an impressive one—long, dark, solid and with the type of patina that only comes with age. It’s a great bar to sit at, drink a Guinness, and just talk, but even better to enjoy a burger, one of the best I’ve ever eaten.

  I asked Robert how big the burgers were and his only response was, “They are pretty big.” He was not far off. This pub has been serving half-pound burgers since 1970, and a lot of them. Artie Kardaras, head chef at Donovan’s for over 35 years, told me they hand-patty 400 pounds of quality ground shell steak (New York strip) a day for their burgers. “I make every day fresh,” he proudly explained with his thick Greek accent.

  The Donovan’s burger is a lesson in how a large burger should be prepared. It’s cooked in a way that few burgers are in America—in a broiler used for cooking steaks. The loose-pattied burger is broiled to the temperature of your choice with li
ttle attention paid to it by the chef. “Too many people press them too much,” Artie explained with big hand gestures and twisted facial expressions. Artie believes, and is correct, that the best burgers are left alone and touched the least.

  When you bite into the inch-thick Donovan’s burger, the first thing you notice is how loose the meat is. The delicate exterior char can barely contain the tender, steamy beef inside. A half-pound burger may sound tough to tackle, but the meat-to-bun ratio is nearly perfect, making the entire experience incredibly satisfying.

  Other than a bar, burgers, and regulars, Donovan’s also has an impressive dining room and a great menu loaded with comfort food. Go during the colder months and enjoy your burgers by the cozy fireplace in the dark-paneled dining room with Tiffany lamps hanging overhead.